season 2

(S02E05) There's something very comforting about the massive dysfunction among Tara and her family, especially since they have such a way of not letting the craziness really get to them. It's almost as if Tara's condition has prepared those around her to accept whatever slings and arrows get tossed their way. More on the latest patient of Dr. Shoshona Schoenbaum and Neil's hairy back patch after the jump.

(S02E05) Jackie Peyton has to be one of the most complicated and twisted characters on television today. Just trying to navigate the ins and outs of her mind, the motivations and mood swings, is enough to make you seasick. But then she does something soulful and pure and good, and you wonder if you were wrong to doubt her. You had all that, plus 'Alice in Wonderland' in this episode. More after the jump.

(S02E02) There's nothing united about Tara's states right now. After all the time away in therapy and the realization that her shattered persona was not the result of what happened at school when she was a teenager, the reality emerging is that something is askew in her psyche that cannot be fixed... The lid on the pot is shaking and ready to explode. More on that and Marshall's gay-size shorts after the jump.

Assuming Fox approves the scripts once they've had a chance to see where the story goes, that'll bump Lie to Me's season two total to 16 episodes. It's not a full back nine - but it's closer. That being said, don't forget that Lie to Me was a mid-season replacement earlier this year and the fact that it got picked up at all was a pleasant surprise.

Just when I'd added Southland to my list of shows to spotlight in upcoming editions of "Gone Too Soon," now there are glimmers of hope for its future. After NBC unceremoniously dumped it before it premiered this season, in favor of more Dateline, fans and television pundits were stunned.

Executive producer John Wells has reportedly been in contact with the cast to tell them he has at least two cable networks interested in picking up Southland. The good news comes in two ways. One, the series gets to come back. And two, a cable network is a lot less likely to tamper with the storytelling style Southland was developing in its first season. NBC already had them de-emphasizing the larger cast and the serialized nature of their storytelling in the episodes they were filming for the new season.

With just about a month to go until the season two premiere of Fringe, FOX has released the promotional poster for the new season. Much like the ad campaign and show bumpers used throughout the first season (that code did get cracked), the new poster is full of clues, both old and new.

There hasn't been much else teasing the new season of Fringe, save for the short video I posted last week, so for now, this is the best we've got if we want to try and figure just what the heck is going to happen to Olivia now that she's in an alternate universe.

At first glance, you can pretty quickly see the Observer, Walter drinking some sort of slushie, and tons of the glyphs seen in the first season. But keep looking and there's a lot more. The poster is after the jump - take a look and tell us what you see or if you've got any theories.

Yesterday was cable's last day here in Pasadena, with only a few quotable lines of note (mostly from Omarosa, promoting her new TV One reality show, Life After). The afternoon was full of set visits; first to the Paramount lot to visit Three Rivers and NCIS: Los Angeles, then to Fox to drop by Bones and Dollhouse.

Of course, the last one is probably the one of most interest to the Squad's readership. And that's something Joss Whedon emphasized as he appeared first solo, then with the cast; despite the show's dismal Nielsen numbers, its "non-traditional" numbers -- DVR, online, etc. -- were enough to get the show renewed.

Still, Joss was astounded to be in front of us on that set again: "Welcome back to the biggest surprise of my career: our season two."

More on the panel, including the impact of "Epitaph One" on the second season, after the jump.

If you read my updated TV Squad profile, you'll see that besides infomercials, my guilty pleasure is blooper shows. You don't see many of them on TV nowadays, but you do get a lot of gag reels on DVD sets. Since Burn Notice is on tonight I thought I'd post this clip of season two outtakes. They sure do swear a lot.

We haven't done a giveaway in a while, but we couldn't resist when we were offered this opportunity: We've got three copies ofMad Men: Season Two on DVDfor three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is out in stores starting tomorrow.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 17 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:

To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Mad Men DVD set.

The comment must be left before July 17, 2009 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.

You may enter only once.

Three winners will be selected in a random drawing.

Three winners will receive a Mad Men: Season Two DVD (valued at $49.98).

Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.

Season two of Reaper continues to entertain: it's funny, smart and unexpected, while still delivering all the things we loved about Reaper in season one. From using Sam's zombie dad to scare the poop out of Ben in the car, to the tongue-in-cheek shout-out to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this episode delivered.

One thing this episode did suffer from, though, is something I feared. Because they've introduced so many characters, we only saw a brief bit of them this week (and we didn't see Nina at all), and I was left wanting more of some. I guess we got a good fill of the dad, and it was so great to have demon Tony back. But I missed Nina, and I craved more Morgan. I'm wondering, too, if Kristen will end up being more than a bizarre sex symbol for Sock.

(S02E03) "No, I'm not growing a douche tag!" - Sam to Ben when he suggests Sam grow a soul patch

The only way I can begin this review is... yay Reaper! The first two episodes this season were enjoyable and got me back into the Reaper spirit. Tonight's episode raised the game; the writers went beyond hitting their stride and hit it out of the park.

You think that's too strong a stance for this episode? Come, explore with me, if you will, the finer points of tonight's episode....

Reaper's back, and our resident lovable losers are in full form: homeless (evicted from their apartment), jobless (though they get them back with a little blackmail), Sam's in the doghouse with Andi, and it's just another devilish day at The Work Bench.

That all may add up to a typical episode of Reaper for you, but they've taken a couple of steps to bring this show to the next level, as well as bringing us everything we loved so much about the first season.

I just finished watching season one of FX's Damages and, wow! What a gripping, twisty-turny show that had me hooked the whole way. Glenn Close acts the socks off anyone in close range, but the rest of the cast are no slouches either.

I've gained new respect for Ted Danson in his role as Arthur Frobisher, a high-stakes entrepreneur who's gotten himself into some pretty deep doo-doo. And Rose Byrne as the young-pup attorney Ellen is like watching a steely-eyed carp in the making.

I can't wait for season two to start on Jan. 7 at 10 PM, but until then I'll have to appease myself with Jonathan's early look and this poster.

I just can't get enough of Damages. Season two is right around the corner (it premieres on FX on Wednesday, January 7th at 10PM ET) and to generate some buzz, FX put together a conference call yesterday with Glenn Close, and Executive Producers/Co-Creators Glenn Kessler, Todd A. Kessler, and Daniel Zelman.

After I got off the call, I typed some thoughts while it was still fresh in my mind; there's a lot I want to talk about.

I've already seen the first two episodes (you can check out my early review here) and with that in mind, be aware that what follows after the jump is 100% spoilerish. Though some of it is general, if you don't want to know what happens as season two kicks off - this is your warning.